Echidna

This sweet little monotreme is made with three different shades of brown 8 ply wool and a 4 mm hook. For the claws you will need 4 ply dark/greyish brown wool and a 2.5 mm hook. To be perfectly honest I didn’t have 4 ply so I just split my 8 ply in half, but you might be better at planning ahead than me. The pattern is in American crochet notation. She is 15 cm long. Making her is easy but laborious. So … many … quills ……

Snout

With dark/greyish brown wool

Round 1: 6sc in a magic ring (6 stitches)

Rounds 2 – 5: sc in each stitch (6 stitches)

Head

With medium/reddy brown wool

Round 6: increase in every stitch (12 stitches)

Round 7: sc in the first stitch, increase in the next stitch – repeat (18 stitches)

Rounds 8 – 9: sc in each stitch (18 stitches)

Body

Round 10: sc in the first two stitches, increase in the next stitch – repeat (24 stitches)

Round 11: sc in the first three stitches, increase in the next stitch – repeat (30 stitches)

Round 12: sc in the first four stitches, increase in the next stitch – repeat (36 stitches)

Round 13: sc in the first five stitches, increase in the next stitch – repeat (42 stitches)

Rounds 14 – 18: sc in each stitch (42 stitches)

Round 19: sc in the first five stitches, decrease the next two stitches together – repeat (36 stitches)

Round 20: sc in the first four stitches, decrease the next two stitches together – repeat (30 stitches)

Round 21: sc in the first three stitches, decrease the next two stitches together – repeat (24 stitches)

Round 22: sc in the first two stitches, decrease the next two stitches together – repeat (18 stitches)

Stuff

Round 23: sc in the first stitch, decrease the next two stitches together – repeat (12 stitches)

Round 24: decrease until the hole closes.

Fasten off, weave in end.

Claws (make sixteen)

With 4 ply dark/greyish brown wool and a 2.5 mm hook

Round 1: 4sc in a magic ring (4 stitches)

Rounds 2 – 4: sc in each stitch (4 stitches)

Legs (make four)

With medium/reddy brown wool

Round 1: 6sc in a magic ring (6 stitches)

Round 2: sc in the first stitch, increase in the next stitch – repeat (9 stitches)

Rounds 3 – 4: sc in each stitch (9 stitches)

Round 5: sc in the first stitch, increase in the next stitch – repeat (13 stitches)

Round 6: sc in each stitch (13 stitches)

Slip stitch, fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing, stuff

Short quills (make eight)

With light brown 8 ply wool and a 2.5 mm hook

Round 1: 4sc in a magic ring (4 stitches)

Rounds 2 – 7: sc in each stitch (4 stitches)

Long quills (make 29 – well, that’s how many I managed before I got bored but you could round it up to 30)

With light brown 8 ply wool and a 2.5 mm hook

Round 1: 4sc in a magic ring (4 stitches)

Rounds 2 – 10: sc in each stitch (4 stitches)

Assembly

Sew four claws to each leg. Sew the legs to the body. Sew the googly eyes to the head. Sew the eight short quills in a row across the front of the body near the eyes. Sew the rest of the quills on behind.